‘World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria’ Releases in September

Intrepid World of Warcraft adventurers are finally getting their chance to travel to the long lost continent of Pandaria in the newest expansion for the wildly popular MMO. Unveiled during last year’s BlizzCon, Mists of Pandaria promises to take players both new and old on tons of new quests, give them access to a completely new race (the Pandaren), allow them to play as a new monk class, and raises the level cap to 90.

A substantial amount of work has gone into making Mists of Pandaria Blizzard’s largest World of Warcraft expansion yet, including what is being touted as their largest beta test. And now all of that hard work will come to a head when the expansion releases on September 25th.

Pre-sales for Mists of Pandaria have just gone live, with gamers able to order a Digital Deluxe or Retail Collector’s Edition rather than the traditional $40 vanilla version. Coupled in with the Retail Collector’s Edition is a wealth of in-game bonus items, including a new mount and a new pet, all of which are also offered with the Digital Deluxe version.

The biggest difference with the Collector’s Edition is the inclusion of a behind-the-scenes DVD/Blu-Ray, a soundtrack CD, and art book, and a Chen Stormstout mouse pad. Those can only be acquired by picking the expansion up from brick and mortar stores, but all of the in-game digital items come with either “special” editions.

Among the new features being rolled out with Mists of Pandaria are a new set of PvE trials called scenarios, 5-player dungeons called challenge modes, and a new pet battle system that will put that Digital/Collector’s exclusive pet to work. But most importantly Mists raises the level cap and gives players an entirely new race to discover, an addition sure to bring weary travelers back into the fold.

Our own Mark Sherman, who provides a healthy does of WoW Wisdom from time to time, has already been tooling around with the Mists of Pandaria beta, and you can read his preview of the expansion to get a better idea of what’s in store for players.

Which Mists of Pandaria version will you be purchasing? What are you most excited about: the new race, a higher level cap, or the new features?